


Wake-Up Call

by Momma_Time



Category: Paragon (Video Game)
Genre: Awkwardness, Friendship, Late Night Conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 09:10:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14016990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momma_Time/pseuds/Momma_Time
Summary: Phase and Revenant have a strange friendship, to put it mildly. He doesn't like physical contact and Phase isn't as scared of him as she should be. For whatever reason, the entity doesn't mind talking to her and has more to say at night than during the day with the others.Phase learns a few things about him.





	Wake-Up Call

**Author's Note:**

> I'm coming into the fandom kind of late since the servers are being closed down in a month. I'm sad about that because I really like the game. I'm maining Phase and Sparrow. They're a hoot to play.  
> Anyway, because of that, I'm assuming that this is seriously canon divergent since I didn't find much on them minus like, a paragraph each on their wiki pages.
> 
> This can come across as more than platonic, but because I don't know their ages and I'm having to assume, it's kind of an awkwardly close friendship between a demon/possessed bounty hunter and a youthful telepath (the end bit is meant to be more like a pat on the head). If you want to see it as more, then go for it. Because of how much she's supposedly accomplished, I sort of guessed her age based on that.  
> There are brief mentions of blood and wounds but it's not graphic in the slightest.
> 
> For those that don't know, Phase's real name is Jeanette.

It wasn't unusual for Revenant to drop by, unannounced, in the middle of the night. Most of the time, Jean couldn't sleep anyway and welcomed the distraction. If someone was still hanging around, he'd keep his distance. Those who knew Revenant around here generally stayed clear of him unless they absolutely had to meet with him.  
  
Bless the souls of anyone who tried to give the entity a pat on the back or something. Generally, no one wanted to be close enough to touch him, and so it wasn't a problem. But those who didn't know that the guy liked his space and found physical contact abhorrent? Well, Jean and the others did their best to patch up the recruits that didn't know any better.  
  
But when it was just the two of them? The entity seemed to finally relax, or get as close to "relaxed" as he could ever be. He was restless, always wanting to work and get the job done; Revenant thrived on the hunt, on the blood-curdling screams of those who were on his list. And if Jean and the others could give him targets that were actually evil and needed taking care of? Fantastic. That's fewer innocents that lose their lives to him.  
  
Now that? That did unnerve Jean. She wanted nothing to do with hurting the innocent, and she at least recognized that to some degree, whoever Revenant was before, didn't want to hunt them either. Valid, deserving targets. That's the goal. At least that part of him could agree with the missions he was sent on. But whatever led to him being the way he was didn't care who he killed, so long as there was bloodshed.  
  
Why he hadn't tried to off any of them was anyone's guess. Either he knew he couldn't best them all at once, or he saw that there was a chance for a symbiotic relationship here. Either way, he hadn't been overly hostile to anyone who let him be.  
  
Jean couldn't tell you why Revenant thought that she was an appropriate companion. They were polar opposites, but he finally had more to say than just monosyllabic responses, if even that much, that he gave others. She wasn't sure if it was the man before Revenant or whatever made Revenant—Revenant, that did the talking. Either way, he told her about the different places he'd visited, what they looked like, and if anything interesting—other than someone's untimely end—happened. Was it his distant past? Or more recent? She didn't know and hesitated to ask. At least they were amicable when alone.  
  
\--  
  
She wasn't always a victim of insomnia. Some nights, she actually managed to fall asleep at a decent hour. Those were treasured nights, but not all of them were successful. Sometimes, Revenant wouldn't bother her; other times, he'd let himself in any way, waking her.  
  
Rarely did she ever send him away, exhausted or no, unless she was already having a rough day and just needed the sleep. "Next time," she'd say. Revenant would leave without a word, just a simple nod of understanding.  
  
Tonight was one of those nights when he decided to show up after she'd finally fallen asleep. Jean didn't know he'd returned from another hunt, so when she woke to someone lightly touching her face, she bolted upright, hands raised with energy already charging to fire.  
  
"Shit. Sorry." Jean let the energy die out and then lowered one hand onto her covered lap, while the other went to stifle a yawn and rub at her eyes. That's one way to greet the day—night—whatever. "Didn't hit you or anything, did I?"  
  
It took a moment for him to answer, slow to speak, as expected when they first start out. " **No, but someone else did.** "  
  
After a second of confusion, Jean's eyes darted down to his side, a gash oozing dark sludgy blood and some kind of black smoke. Well, that's new. She didn't know he could get hurt like this. A few bruises, probably, but Jean couldn't remember him ever actually being hurt. A wave of her hand and the lights in her room flipped on.  
  
"Ouch, man. That looks awful. Uh, hang on." She crawled out of bed and darted for the bathroom, coming back with two towels and a medical device she'd managed to sneak out of the labs. After layering the towels on her bed, Jean gestured for him to sit.  
  
"And I hate to ask this of ya, but can you remove your coat and all? Actually, how many layers _do_ you wear? How do you not melt in the heat like that? Ugh, I'd die." Hands on her hips, she raised a brow and gave him a look that said 'hurry up.'  
  
They stared one another down, his hell-fire eyes against hers. Like she'd let that scare her right now. The dude wanted help? He was going to have to deal with it.  
  
With a long-suffering sigh, Revenant finally began to remove his coat and other layers. " **Under these, it's not pretty.** " The best warning she was going to get about whatever she was going to see.  
  
"I'm sure I've seen worse," Jean fired back, smirking.  
  
" **Lose the grin, kid,** " he grumbled.  
  
"HA! Never. One of us has to enjoy life. If you're not gonna do it, may as well be me."  
  
He rolled his eyes and finally got the top two coats off, then started on the vest, all three of which he neatly draped over her desk chair—considerate of him. Gloves next, then the thick scarf that hid most of his face. He looked her in the eye as he removed the last of it, hat removed and everything from the waist up bared for the world to see with it.  
  
It—was certainly a sight, even without the gash. It looked like Revenant had been mauled by something, healed up, and then mauled again. Scars everywhere, twisted and white against his dark skin. She wasn't sure how he might have looked before all of this; Jean could guess, but she had a feeling she couldn't come close to it. Her eyes trailed up to his face which had a similar problem, but it wasn't quite as bad.  
  
"What happened, Rev?"  
  
Red eyes scrunched to glare at her for asking and then the entity made for her bed to sit and let her work. " **Happened when I became this.** " A spirit and a man fighting for one body—it didn't just affect the soul and mind. " **Don't ever let a spirit try to take your form, or you'll wind up the same.** "  
  
So that's what happened. Jean hadn't asked, had mostly avoided it. If he wasn't telling, she wasn't asking, was her policy when it came to Revenant; Jean didn't want to piss him off. But if he'd opened the door, maybe it was safe to press for more details. It wasn't like Jean had never been curious, and she didn't plan to tell anyone what she knew about him if Revenant did choose to divulge those secrets to her. It wasn't her story to tell.  
  
Jean picked up the med-patch and took a seat beside him. She turned it on and let it load up, quietly asking while they waited. "Is that what happened?"  
  
" **Yes.** "  
  
She nodded slowly, not looking up from the screen. "May I ask who you were before?" Jean finally got the program she needed up and leaned a little closer to him to reach. "Um, I'll have to touch you to do this. May I?"  
  
He made her wait for his answer; she assumed it was the first question he was avoiding. " **Do what you must.** "  
  
Okay, touching is-a-go. It's a start. Revenant touched Jean's face to wake her, which was new; she needed to ask him about that. Normally he'd clear his throat or purposefully make noise when entering her quarters to alert her to his presence. He'd never initiated contact before. This was an exciting night for the both of them, wasn't it?  
  
She gently took his arm and had him hold it up enough for her to get to his side. Jean held the machine close and let it scan the wound, and it felt like it was taking forever with the now tense silence between them. It stretched on, even as she began moving the device up and down and side to side slowly so it could patch everything up. Honestly, she was amazed that the thing knew what to do with something like Revenant.  
  
" **Jedediah,** " he murmured.  
  
"Does this mean I have to stop calling you 'Rev?'" she teased after another moment.  
  
" **No.** "  
  
"I won't use that name around the others, if you prefer." Again, that was his to tell, not hers.  
  
" **Please.** "  
  
"Look at you using manners!" The device finished healing the wound and beeped to let her know. Jean leaned away again and fiddled with it until she got it to shut down.  
  
" **Stop grinning.** "  
  
"Nope!" Jean tapped her chin in thought, fighting back her smile. "Let's see. Jeddy okay? No? Hm, I'll think of something to call you, old man."  
  
He wasn't impressed if the eye roll was anything to go on. Oh, well. He'd get over it. " **Thanks, kid.** "  
  
"Oi, I'm an old lady now."  
  
" **You think twenty-three is old?** " Revenant scoffed as he stood to grab his things.  
  
"Maybe." Jean cleaned up the towels and checked to make sure none of the strange blood spilled on the covers. Satisfied that her blankets were safe, Jean made for the bathroom again and dumped the towels into the basket and put the med-patch-thingy away.  
  
When she came back, he was buttoning up the charcoal-grey vest. Layer number seventy, probably. Jean leaned against the doorway to watch him, "Hey, Jedediah. I have a question."  
  
" **You always have a question.** "  
  
"I do not."  
  
" **What is it?** " He stopped after the vest to turn all of his attention on her.  
  
"You touched my face to wake me up. Why?"  
  
He didn't blink, didn't move, just watched. After a few seconds of this, Jean began to think that she shouldn't have brought it up and started to squirm. Okay. Never mind then.  
  
"I mean, it's fine if you do, but I was curious as to what changed that you were comfortable with it for once and—"  
  
" **You're rambling.** "  
  
Her mouth closed with a click. Whoops.  
  
" **You're—about as close to a friend as I'll ever have in this world after the spirit and I shared this form.** " Okay, that didn't answer her question. " **I don't want contact always, but on occasion, I'll survive.** " There it is.  
  
Jean's grin was back, and she bowed playfully. "Gotcha. Well, I feel honored, good sir. I still ask if I need to do anything." It was just common courtesy.  
  
He continued to hold her gaze as he mulled it over until finally, Revenant offered her a small nod. " **Acceptable.** "  
  
After he got the thick scarf and bits of armor on, Revenant moved towards where Jean still stood, tugging on the first coat. He stopped when there was about two feet between them, reminding Jean of how tall this guy was. There was an absence of movement or speech for a few seconds, and then he reached up to brush bare fingertips over her cheek again.  
  
Jean tensed at the contact. Asleep and not knowing that he was touching her face was one thing—and a little creepy, doing it while she was wide awake and could see him do it was another. It wasn't a bad thing, but his hand was icy cold as if Revenant sucked the heat away from everything he touched. Maybe that's why the entity always wore gloves. Instead of recoiling, Jean simply waited it out, let the guy touch her face awkwardly. Who knows, maybe the guy was touch starved? The fingertips became his whole hand, cupping her cheek. Holy shit it was weird, but okay.  
  
He leaned down, and for a split second, Jean thought he was going to suck out her soul or something. Instead, there was a light peck on her forehead—okay that was weird too—before he pulled away and turned his back to her to finish putting on his armor, hat, coats, and gloves on. This night was getting stranger.  
  
"How old are you, anyway?"  
  
" **I don't know.** " Soooo old enough to forget how old he was. Nice. " **Thank you for the help and—have a _nice_ evening.** "  
  
"Using manners like a gentleman. What's next? A bouquet of flowers?" Hey, she could tease him a little; Jean earned that much.  
  
The entity seemed to consider it, genuinely consider it, and then nodded before slipping out of her quarters. Okay, then.  
  
"Good night, I guess."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Ixhadbadxdays on tumblr!


End file.
